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Asteroid Near-Earth

5660

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5660 (1974 MA)

Where is it now

Distance from Sun
2.138 AU
True anomaly
211.5°
Distance from Earth
2.413 AU
As of
11 October 2026

Two-body Kepler propagation — accurate to ~0.1% for major planets over decades, less so for highly-perturbed bodies. Use JPL Horizons for high precision.

Orbit of Mercury Orbit of Venus Orbit of Mars Sun Earth — 0.998 AU from the Sun Earth 5660 — 2.138 AU from the Sun 5660
Seen from above the ecliptic, north up, to scale. Grid: Earth's orbit in blue. 5660 is 2.413 AU from Earth today (20.1 light-minutes).

In the sky

Right ascension
17h 13m 04s
Declination
-34° 29′ 39″
Constellation
Scorpius
Distance from Earth
2.42 AU
Elongation from the Sun
61.82° — well clear of the Sun

Favours the southern hemisphere; low or below the horizon from far north.

From your location

See how high it is right now, whether it is up after civil twilight, and when it rises and sets where you are.

How do I find my coordinates?

Google Maps on a computer

  1. Right-click the spot where you'll be observing.
  2. The first line of the menu is the coordinates, e.g. 51.50722, -0.12758 — click it and they're copied.
  3. Paste them above.

Google Maps on a phone

  1. Press and hold the spot to drop a pin.
  2. The coordinates appear in the search bar (or on the pin's card) — tap to copy, then paste above.

A full Google Maps link works too, but the short maps.app.goo.gl share links don't carry coordinates — copy the numbers instead. We round to about a kilometre; that's all the sky calculation needs.

Know your what3words address? Paste it, e.g. ///filled.count.soap. This is optional — the three words are sent to what3words to convert them, and we don't store the address or the result.

Your location stays in your browser and is sent only for this calculation. Using a what3words address is optional; if you do, the three words go to what3words to be converted and we don't record them. Set a location first, then you can save an email alert for this object. See our privacy policy.

Two-body approximation, good to about a degree for the planets — enough to find the constellation and know whether it is up.

Orbital elements

Semi-major axis
1.786 AU
Eccentricity
0.7619
Inclination
38.15°
Orbital period
871.5 days
Perihelion
0.425 AU
Aphelion
3.146 AU
Longitude of ascending node
302.11°
Argument of periapsis
127.06°
Epoch · J2000
2461200.5
Orbit class · APO
Apollo
Earth MOID · 63.4 LD
0.1629 AU
Tisserand (Jupiter)
3.511

Orbit quality

Orbit very well determined (uncertainty code 0).

Observations used
729
Data arc
52.03 years
First observed
26 June 1974
Last observed
7 July 2026
Residual RMS
0.53 ″
Solution · Otto Matic
8 July 2026

Physical properties

Rotation period
17.5 hours

Visual & observation

Absolute magnitude (H)
15.38
Spectral type (SMASS)
Q

Discovery & classification

Discovered by
Kowal, C. T.
Discovery date
26 June 1974
Discovery site
Palomar

Also known as 1974 MA · 1993 OL

Apollo Near-Earth Object

Close approaches 8 on record

Flyby geometry
Ecliptic flyby of 5660 at 2036-08-04 02:01 UTC Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-08-04 02:01 UTC close approach of 5660. Catalogue miss distance 64.2 LD · 2.47 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-08-01 to 2036-08-07, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate. Sun 7 Aug 64.2 LD · 2.47 × 10⁷ km 2036-08-04 02:01 UTC Earth Moon Heliocentric, approximate

Top-down view of the ecliptic, Earth at the centre, for the 2036-08-04 02:01 UTC close approach of 5660. Catalogue miss distance 64.2 LD · 2.47 × 10⁷ km. The curve is the geocentric path from 2036-08-01 to 2036-08-07, with a mark at UTC midnights and an arrow for the direction of motion. The circle is the Moon’s mean orbit; the Moon is plotted at closest approach. A ray shows the Sun’s direction. The labelled distance is the full separation. The drawn radius is the part that lies in the ecliptic plane. At closest approach the object is north of the ecliptic. The path is a geocentric ecliptic ephemeris from JPL Horizons. The inset is a heliocentric view and is approximate.

JPL Horizons

When (UTC) Body Distance Lunar distances Relative speed
2036-08-04 02:01:00 Earth 0.1649 AU 64.2 LD 29.9 km/s
2067-08-05 21:05:00 Earth 0.1725 AU 67.1 LD 29.2 km/s
2098-08-04 06:08:00 Earth 0.1784 AU 69.4 LD 30.1 km/s
2165-04-03 19:17:00 Mars 0.0823 AU 32.0 LD 26.1 km/s
2200-12-31 12:35:00 Mars 0.0688 AU 26.8 LD 25.2 km/s

Next ten from today. 1 lunar distance = 384,400 km. Source: JPL close-approach data.

Sources